Shelley's Quiet Book

Our newest quiet book is kind of unique, as it was made in Guatemala! Shelley and her husband Jim from Livin'Our Dreams are missionaries serving the people of that country. When her twin boys turned one, Shelley made this beautiful quiet book for them. It's really well made, and each page features a different nature scene with lots of animal finger puppets to play with! This quiet book is so beautiful and looks so fun.

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Shelley, I am a Christ follower completely in love with the wonderful family that God has given to me!   

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
My twin boys (Jonah & Silas) for their first birthday.   

What's your level of sewing experience?
I grew up sewing with my mom. My seam ripper and I have a love/hate relationship. I read a lot of books and online tutorials to try and improve.   

How long did it take you?  
Probably 2 months worth of nap times. My twins were good sleepers. I only had templates for some of the animals and the barn, so the planning stage took extra time. Maybe a little under 20 hours.   

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
 Some of the animal finger puppet templates are for sale at The Idea Room  http://www.theidearoom.net/idea-room-store The barn is from Homemade by Jill http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/07/quiet-book-templates.html.   

How did you bind your quiet book?
I made some bias tape out of felt to bind my pages front to back. I found some cardboard-like stiff felt to put in between them before I bound them. Then I used grommets to reinforce the holes to attach all the pages on 3 metal rings.   

What material are the pages made out of?
Mine are all out of felt. I would have preferred to use fleece just because I think it might be a little more durable, but that is not available where I live.  (My family and I are missionaries in rural Petén, Guatemala.)  

What other materials did you use?
100% felt other than the metal rings and grommets. I used embroidery floss for all of the sewing. I did it by hand, since I didn't think I could be as accurate with my machine.   

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
Under $10 probably, I had everything on hand, so I'm not sure.  

What's your favorite page? Why?
Probably the jungle page since that is where we live!
 
I made this for my boys' first birthday, but I think it is way more age appropriate now that they are 3. They love the animals, but I have since then made some Bible character felt finger puppets to tell stories with, and I think we have more play options with them. Just maybe a tad bit more educational. I love that my boys know that their mommy made this for them. They think their mommy or daddy could make anything and can teach them how too as well. Handmade really inspires creativity in children and a desire to know how things work when they are allowed to be part of the process!  So many learning opportunities together! 


You can see more details of Shelley's quiet book (and their life in Guatemala!) here on her blog. Thank you so much, Shelley, for sharing your wonderful book with us!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Toni's Quiet Book

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I've been gone a couple weeks; we all had colds over here and I'm just getting back into the swing of things. We've got a great new quiet book to show you today, though! I seriously love this book. It was made by Toni of Sugar Tart Crafts, and it's nursery-rhyme themed! It's got Baa Baa Black Sheep, Mary Mary Quiet Contrary, The Little Mermaid, Hickory Dickory Dock, Little Bo Peep, and Humpty Dumpty. I love the detail and thought she's put into each page. I can't even pick a favorite page; I keep swinging between Baa Baa Black Sheep and Little Bo Peep. Anyway, check it out!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.  
My name is Toni, and I have too many projects and not enough time to finish them! (Most of you probably know the feeling!)

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I started the book for my daughter, Aurelia, when she was about a year and a half old (now 3yr). Unfortunately we moved shortly after I started, and the whole project kind of got forgotten in the shuffle. My son is only 7 months now, so maybe I'll find some time to finish it up for him to use instead.

What's your level of sewing experience?
What would you call the level in between intermediate and expert?  That's probably what I'd be. I got my B.S. in fashion design, but I know there are still plenty of things for me to learn.

How long did it take you? 
This one is hard...I know it took roughly a week each to make 6 pages, but I couldn't say how many hours a day I actually worked on it. Mostly it took so long because of all the hand embroidery. If you have ever tried to sew something with a toddler in the house you know that the amount of "free time" you have varies greatly from day to day!

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I sketched most of the shapes out free hand, like the fish and Humpty Dumpty. I just drew the shape I needed and then added the necessary features to it. For some of the more "particular" pieces like the sheep, large flowers, and girl half of the mermaid, I Googled coloring book pages or clip art (ex. lamb coloring page) and either traced or eyeballed it from there. Once you have a basic person shape it is pretty easy to change the hair, clothes, or facial features to make different male and female characters.

How did you bind your quiet book?
I didn't. It isn't completed yet. But if you look at the pages, you can tell that I didn't always leave room for this step either. Oops!

What material are the pages made out of?  
My basic materials are... Plain felt sheets -  you can get them at most craft stores. Clear Glue - something like Fabri-tac or Fabric Fusion **hot glue can melt some types of felt!** Craft thread - This is thicker (and cheaper) than embroidery floss, but you could use either. My husband accidentally bought the variegated pack, so that is why some of my fish look like they are changing colors!

What other materials did you use? Assorted buttons and beads, a little card stock for the clock hands, ric rac for flower stems, and black pom poms for the bags of "wool."

How much did all the supplies cost you?
For just these 6 it would definitely cost less than $10. I only purchased the felt and thread, but I initially bought enough to make about 20 - 25 pages. All the other little odds and ends were found in crafting stash. 

What's your favorite page? Why?
I think the Mermaid page in my favorite. It was fun trying to come up with different fish that would work for each shape, and I think the"blow fish" circle and "angel fish" triangle turned out kinda cute!


You can find more pictures and details of this Nursery Rhyme quiet book on Toni's blog, here:
Quiet Book Summary
Baa Baa Black Sheep Page
Flowers and Mermaid Pages
Hickory Dickory Dock Page
Little Bo Peep Page 
Humpty Dumpty Page

Thank you, Toni, for sharing your super creative and beautiful quiet book with us!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!